1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism to secure a cover for an opening in a bumper.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a related-art mechanism to secure a cover for an opening in a bumper (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-175190, for example) in which an opening provided in a bumper for use of a tow hook is provided with a cover and is opened when an end of the cover is pressed and the cover is thus rotated.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 6 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-175190, a bumper 1 has an opening 2, a pair of shafts 6 extending inward from side edges, respectively, of the opening 2, and a slit 7 provided at the lower edge of the opening 2. A cover 3 has a pair of support pieces 10 extending to the rear from right and left ends, respectively, thereof, and a locking piece 14 extending to the rear from the lower end thereof. The support pieces 10 are rotatably fitted to the shafts 6, respectively, and the locking piece 14 is inserted into the slit 7, whereby the cover 3 is secured to the bumper 1.
As shown in FIG. 6 of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-175190, in a state where the cover 3 is secured to the bumper 1, the cover 3 has a free end at a position thereof opposite the end having the locking piece 14 with respect to positions where the support pieces 10 are fitted to the shafts 6. Such a free end tends to resonate with, for example, vibrations of the vehicle body.
To suppress such resonance, the stiffness of the cover 3 may be increased, for example.
If, however, the stiffness of the cover 3 is increased, the cover 3 becomes difficult to bend and consequently becomes difficult to remove from the bumper 1.
In addition, with deep grooves 11 provided in the support pieces 10 so that the support pieces 10 can be fitted to the shafts 6, and with an elastic projection 15 and first and second stoppers 16 and 17 provided on the locking piece 14, the cover 3 has a complicated shape, increasing costs of the mechanism.